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Charge Plug review

The big trend right now is riding either singlespeed or fixed wheel like couriers – and the Charge Plug lets you do both in style

£400

26 October 2007/6:00BST

If you see a bike courier out and about the chances are he’s riding either singlespeed or fixed wheel. Both are basically ways of losing the weight of gears on a bike. The former simply has no gears, while the latter even loses the back brake – you simply brake by pedalling less – to further reduce weight.

Both styles will quickly help you develop calves like tree branches, but riding a ‘fixie’ isn’t easy at first. Luckily, the Plug is here to ease you into this niche. It comes with a flip-flop hub – run it one way, you’ve got no gears but you can still coast and backpedal, run it the other and you’re riding with the big boys.

Pain… or more pain?

Clips hold the Plug’s back brake cable in place, so if you do run fixed there’s not even any unsightly bosses for the cable left. This means ultra-clean lines, a look we’re rather fond of.

The Plug is also a rock solid, dirt-cheap hack bike. There’s nothing flash on it, but everything works.

Our only bones are with the weight. For the ultra-speedy, this could be an issue – there are plenty of lighter singlespeeds out there. But, frankly, no other singlespeeds look this cool. And for us, this combined with its solid build makes it king of the genre.

Stuff says...

Charge Plug review

Courier style and sensible too – the Plug’s a classy take on fixed gear